West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi on Thursday endorsed the Village Prosecutor Guard program, which State Prosecutor officials say has reduced legal cases against village leaders from 525 to roughly 70 in a year, while calling for urgent conservation of water sources, forests, and farmland amid El Niño drought threatening rural areas.
Speaking at a forum in Sumedang Regency on June 25, Mulyadi outlined three elements villagers must protect: energy sources, food sources, and spiritual sources. He defined energy sources to include springs, trees, mountains, rice fields, rivers, and deltas.
"Politics may fluctuate, but when water sources, forests, and food supply remain protected, Indonesia will endure and flourish," Mulyadi said.
The Village Prosecutor Guard is a State Prosecutor program designed to assist and oversee village fund management using a preventive approach. Its main tool is a web-based reporting system at jagadesa.kejaksaan.go.id, where village leaders report finances for verification by local Village Consultative Bodies (BPD), elected councils that by law oversee village leadership.
Why is the BPD central to Village Prosecutor Guard oversight?
The program relies on the BPD as verifier because these councils operate daily in villages, understand local dynamics, and hold legal authority to monitor village leadership. By making the BPD the primary user of the reporting system, the program creates layered oversight: prosecutors supervise from outside; village councils verify from within. The simultaneous inauguration of the National Association of Village Consultative Bodies (ABPEDNAS) Sumedang formally integrated the regency's BPDs into the national oversight network.
State Prosecutor spokesman Reda Manthovani announced the program's claimed results on June 18: "Last year, 525 village chiefs faced legal cases across Indonesia. By the second semester this year, we have reduced that to around 70 cases."
The State Prosecutor's Office has not released public methodology that would allow independent verification of the reduction. The decline could reflect genuine prevention efforts, changes in reporting patterns, or some combination.
Mulyadi voiced provincial support for the program. "With the Village Prosecutor Guard program, oversight will be stronger and government programs can reach their intended targets," he said. Sumedang Regency Head Dony Ahmad Munir called the program "visionary" for prioritizing prevention and education over punishment.
The Village Prosecutor Guard encompasses two initiatives Mulyadi mentioned: a food security program and one ensuring Smart Card aid reaches proper beneficiaries. The provincial government has not announced specific measures to protect water sources or village forests from land conversion, such as provincial regulations or dedicated budget programs.
Conservation calls amid worsening drought
The push for conservation has urgent context. El Niño and 2026 drought have placed 2,245 people in acute water shortage across several regencies, with the worst drought expected in July. Water sources that have degraded or been diverted cannot recover within a single growing season.
Mulyadi framed conservation as balancing rural modernization with village identity. "Our institutions now operate through information technology. But as a rural community, we cannot abandon our identity," he said.
